Of Heroic Blondes and Fierce Brunettes
by shadybitch
Summary: Steve Rogers, Maria Hill, Emma Swan and Regina Mills join forces on a mission and in the middle of it they learn a lot about each other and themselves. Some Captain Hill and Swan Queen fluffiness to celebrate my Wifey's birthday.


**A/N** \- so yesterday was the birthday of my fave human being in the world, my wifey **adriks** , my soulmate, my love, my best friend. once again, to celebrate this wonderful day I wrote her something. and since I managed to get her hooked on my other OTP and now we're both Swan Queen and Captain Hill trash I decided to give her a crossover featuring these wonderful ships.

 _to my wifey_ – happy belated bday, babe! the Regina to my Emma and the Steve to my Maria (so we know the shit is real here). thanks for everything, I wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for you because you're my biggest supporter when it comes to my writing, you give me confidence and you help me so much I can't even describe. I owe you everything. hope you like this, I tried my best. Love you, pumpkin s2

obs. - here's some tips to improve your reading: don't try to understand the "science" here, just go with it even when it doesn't make sense (which is always). on the matter of timelines, for Maria and Steve this is somewhere between The Avengers and The Winter Soldier; for Regina and Emma this is after the events of season 3 but ignoring everything that happened after 3x20, also in this universe Zelena killed Hook at some point (this is my fave headcanon) and Emma couldn't have cared less, and Hood didn't even come back with the new curse. I obvs had to bend some things to make this work (not sure it did lol).

I don't know if anyone else beside my wifey is going to read this but if yes, then I'm sorry for all mistakes and I hope y'all enjoy! xoxo

* * *

Maria sighs.

It was supposed to be a slow day on the helicarrier. She was just supposed to look over some reports and catch up with paperwork. Now Fury's summoning her to his office in an urgent matter, and this only can mean one thing: problem.

"There's an asgardian on the loose," he says when she closes the door behind her.

 _Of course_ , she thinks. _Problem_.

"Something happened over there and it's big," Fury continues, motioning for her to sit. She stands. "Thor is taking care of things on the other end but someone escaped him and got to Earth, and we have to retrieve this individual and contain him."

"You want me to assemble a team, sir?"

He shakes his head. "People are still twitchy about asgardians on Earth – with good reason – so I don't want to bring a lot of personnel in; it's best to settle this quickly and quietly."

"So you want a small team to take care of it? Is that wise, sir? It is an asgardian after all."

"According to the info I got from the other side this one isn't dangerous. He's probably just lost in here, so it's better not to come on too strong or it may cause a reaction we don't want."

It still amazes Maria how different she and Fury see things. But that's probably why he made her his Deputy Director, because she counterbalances him without undermining his authority. He knows that even when she calls him insane for his decisions, she'll still be loyal to him in the end. And she recognizes that even when his decisions are insane, he generally makes the right call when considering the outcomes, so she gives him the benefit of the doubt. "How do you want to proceed, sir?"

"You'll go after this individual. You have all the knowledge, the skill and the clearance to deal with this kind of situation. And you're the Avengers liaison."

Oh no. "Do you want to bring in the Avengers?"

"Not all of them. But like you said, this is an asgardian after all. You'll need man power to bring him down if comes to it. Thor is busy, Hulk is the worst choice ever to send on this op, and I don't want Stark knowing about this."

"So Captain Rogers then?"

"I've heard you've been working nicely with him since he started to assist in S.H.I.E.L.D. ops. He answers well to your command and you know how to handle him," Fury says with a subtle smirk.

Maria just stares back at him, refusing to react to any meaning he might be implying.

"So that won't be a problem for you, right Lieutenant? Working with Rogers on this."

"No, sir."

"Well, you can go then. I'll send the info I have to your tablet. Take a quinjet and pick up Rogers on your way, he's been notified. And don't forget your asgardian kit."

She nods and leaves, already knowing this will be a long day.

* * *

Emma throws the paper ball towards the trash can, but it hits the border and falls out, like the last three she threw before.

"You suck at this," Henry says from the deputy desk at the sheriff station. "How can you be good at darts and bad at trash can basketball?"

"The physics is completely different, kid," she says with annoyance. "And speaking of physics, have you finished your homework? If I drop you off without your homework done your mom is going to kill me, then you, then me again."

"It's done," he says with an eye-roll he most certainly got from Regina. "Let me show you how we do in the big league."

Before she can properly mock him, the phone rings. "Sheriff Station," Emma answers.

"Hey Emma," Ruby's voice greets from the other end of the line.

"Hey Rubes, what's up?"

"You might want to come down to Main Street to check on something," Ruby says, halting.

"What is it?"

"There's a man and a woman here and I don't recognize them. I think they're outsiders."

Emma frowns. "But that can't be. Isn't the town invisible again or something?"

"Yeah, that's why it's weird," she makes a dramatic pause before adding "And the fact that the man is wearing a Captain America costume."

 _What the actual fuck_. "Okay, I'm going to check it out right now. Thanks, Rubes."

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right place?" Steve asks looking around the vast open field surrounding them.

"According to the readings it is," Maria says back without looking up from the device of her 'asgardian kit'. Maybe the thing is jammed.

"I don't think he's here," Steve states the obvious for effect.

Maria rolls her eyes. "He may not be here right now but he was at some point. There are high levels of alien energy here. And something else entirely," she adds frowning at some data on the small screen.

"You think he's using some kind of trick to hide from us, like Loki with his weird stick?"

"Maybe," she concedes, reaching for her bag and taking out another device. "Luckily for us, Stark and Banner developed something from the info we got on Loki's scepter and the Tesseract that counteracts some frequencies of energies that are foreign to our land."

"So, a machine that blocks magic?" Steve simplifies with raised eyebrows.

"No," Maria huffs. But then again… "Actually, yes, sort of."

Steve smirks but she ignores him entirely. She turns the device on and they wait for it to charge and do its work.

Suddenly, a bright light bursts around them and they can't see anything for a second. When the light subsides, they look around but can't quite believe what their eyes are seeing.

There's a town there.

They're in the middle of the street and there's houses and shops around them, cars parked and even people walking around, though very few of them. It looks more like a ghost town, but it's a town nonetheless.

"What the hell?" Steve asks rhetorically.

Maria would rephrase that more colorfully but she's interrupted by the sound of a siren behind them.

When they turn to the noise – Maria's hand on her gun and Steve with his shield up – a blonde woman slips out of the sheriff cruiser. There's a boy with her, probably 12 years old, and with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"You guys lost?" the blonde woman asks, friendly but with an uncertainty in her posture.

"It's an understatement," Maria says under her breath.

"Apparently," Steve says out loud. "Where are we exactly?"

"Maine," the blonde woman answers simply.

Maria resists the urge of rolling her eyes. "That part we got covered, though we must have missed the welcome sign. How's this town called?"

"Storybrooke," the blonde woman replies, still looking slightly wary of them.

"I've never heard of it before," Maria says, equally wary.

"We're kinda hidden from the rest of the world," the blonde woman says with mirth in her eyes, like she's sharing a private joke with herself. Weird.

"Wow," the boy says from beside the woman, looking at Steve with wide eyes. "You're Steve Rogers, right? _The_ Steve Rogers?"

Steve exchanges a look with Maria before replying. "Yes, I am."

"Wow!" the boy says excited. Then he turns to the blonde woman. "Ma, he's Captain America! The original!"

The woman turns to Steve with same wide eyes. "Wow! Seriously? It's you? The same one from the old films and comics?" Steve just nods, and she adds "This is bananas!"

"And you're S.H.I.E.L.D. right?" the boy asks Maria.

"You know about S.H.I.E.L.D.?" she asks him, surprised.

"Sure! You guys brought the Avengers together and helped defeat the Chitauri!"

Maria just stares at the boy. For a ghost town kid he sure knows a lot about the Battle of New York.

"He's a big fan," the blonde woman says apologetically. "I'm Emma Swan, sheriff of the town. This nerd is my son, Henry."

"Can I call you Cap?" Henry asks Steve excitedly.

"Sure," Steve says back, smiling. There's something about this kid, he just seems so pure and genuine.

"And you are?" Emma asks Maria, settling her bright green eyes in Maria's blue-gray ones. There's intrigue in them and that intrigues Maria too.

"Lieutenant Hill," she answers shortly.

"So how can we help you guys?" Emma asks, her gaze still directed to Maria, like she knows that despite the ranks it's the brunette woman who run things here.

"I'm gonna be straight with you, Sheriff, and I expect the same courtesy from you. There's something going on in your town, something… abnormal."

Emma and Henry visibly tense at this. "But S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't have sent you to investigate Storybrooke, you didn't even know of its existence until my mom told you," Henry says cautiously.

"Smart kid," Steve points out.

"No, we're not here for your town," Maria elaborates. "We're here on an entire different matter and I'm willing to forget about your quaint little town if you help us with our mission."

Emma is still very confused and wary about this whole thing. "How did you even find Storybrooke?"

"We didn't, it kind of found us," Steve offers.

Maria holds up the device that uncovered Storybrooke's existence. "This device counteracts some frequencies of energies that aren't from this world."

"It's a machine that blocks magic," Steve says and Maria wants to roll her eyes at his simplistic explanation but something like recognition flashes on Emma and Henry's eyes and she files this detail for later.

"When we activated it, your town just showed up around us out of nowhere. That's how I know something's off here," she finishes.

"Why were you looking for energy frequencies that are not from this world?" Henry asks, frowning. Then his eyes widen and he adds "There's an alien on the loose, isn't there?"

"That information is classified," Maria replies. "But if you accept my proposition, we'll explain to you what we're doing here and you'll explain to us what's going on here."

"And if we help, you'll keep us off S.H.I.E.L.D. records?" Henry asks with a pointed look.

Okay, this kid is way smarter than he appears. Still amazed, Maria just nods in confirmation.

"It's a good deal, Ma," Henry says turning to Emma. "We really can't afford to go to war with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers."

"But how do I know if I can trust you?" Emma asks, really considering the idea.

"How do I know if I can trust _you_?" Maria shoots back. "Look, you seem like good people, I don't perceive you as a threat so I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I think we can work together. But you'll have to give in a little too, Sheriff Swan."

"We can trust them, Ma," Henry insists. "They didn't give us any reason not to. And it's Cap, he's one of the good guys, remember?"

"Listen to your son, he's very smart," Maria feels the need to point out because honestly, this kid.

"Yeah, he's a nosy little know-it-all," Emma says, half fondly half annoyed. Then she turns to Henry and adds "Your mother won't like that."

"Please, we can handle Mom," the boy says smugly. "But she's smart enough to know this is the right call."

"It's best to keep this just between us," Maria interrupts. "The less people to know about this the better."

Emma shakes her head dejectedly. "Yeah, sorry, I have to keep Regina on the loop about everything. She's probably better equipped to help you anyway."

"Well then, where's she?"

"Just down the block, at Town Hall," when Maria and Steve raise their eyebrows to her she just shrugs. "She's our HBIC," she adds, turning to walk down the street.

"HBIC?" Steve asks Maria, confused. She just shrugs, also confused.

"High Bitch In Charge," Henry explains, grinning. "My mom's the mayor."

* * *

"Evil Queen, curses, Savior, witches. Got it," Maria sums up when Regina and Emma finish telling them the short – at least as short as possible – version of their stories. "So your magic can help us get this guy?"

"You two are taking this really well," Emma comments warily.

"Ma'am, since I was defrosted I've seen a lot of things. I decided to stop underestimating the world I live in now, and how it can surprise me," Steve says, shrugging.

"So you actually believe this? That fairytales are real?" Regina asks, arching an eyebrow.

Maria seems unfazed. "In my daily work I literally have to deal with a man that can turn into a huge rage-driven green monster, a super soldier from the 40s and an actual God from outer space. You'll find that I'm very open-minded when it comes to crazy shit."

Steve just smirks.

Emma shrugs. "Seems legit."

"So, what's our plan of action?" Maria asks, looking to focus on something to stop her from dwelling on how much she needs therapy to deal with this job. And they already wasted too much time here.

Down to business, just the way Regina likes it. "Well, your device won't be able to give accurate readings on the location of your target due to the amount of different foreign energies currently on the area – the 'alien magic' and our magic – but I can do a specific spell that will help us locate him."

"And once we have a location, we can go after him," Emma adds.

"We?" Maria inquires.

"Yeah, I'm coming with you," Emma explains. "I know the area and if he's within the limits of Storybrooke you may need my help with the magic around here."

"Are you a powerful sorceress as well?" Steve asks Emma.

Regina snorts.

"Yes, I am powerful," Emma replies, glaring at Regina.

"But she could be more if she had better control of her power," Regina glares back. "But she keeps skipping magic lessons…"

"Magic lessons are boring," Emma whines.

"…But don't worry, Captain, she's good in the field. It's actually the only way to unlock her full power – in the middle of a life or death situation – and she has great instincts," Regina softens looking back at Emma. "She good at saving."

Emma gives her a sheepish smile.

Maria and Steve exchange a look. Then Maria clears her throat, turning back to Regina. "When can you start?"

* * *

"Magic beans?" Maria asks with a deep frown. "He used a magic bean to escape this world?"

"Yes. They're portals to other lands," Regina explains.

"He was probably trying to get back to Asgard," Steve suggests to Maria.

"Maybe he did?" Henry says.

Maria shakes her head. "Fury would know and would've contacted me," she sighs. "So he's lost in some other world? How are we supposed to bring him back?"

"There are more beans. We can use one to go after him and another one to come back," Emma offers.

"But how will we know which world he went to?" Steve asks.

"His energy signature, we can use it as a compass. It will lead us directly to him, no matter what land he's in."

Steve and Maria nod their heads. "So when can we leave?" Maria asks.

"If I may suggest," Regina says. "I think it's better to send just Emma and the Captain."

"Not a chance," Maria says back. "This is my op."

"I understand, Lieutenant. But let's think this through. We don't know what we will find on the other side, it's best to have a back up team. There's no way to communicate between lands, if we all go in and something happens over there, it will be so much harder for us to be rescued," Regina elaborates. "Emma has the magical knowledge of portal jumping and magic itself in case it's needed and the Captain is the muscle of the operation. I suggest they go in first and try to get the individual; we stand back and wait. In four hours they have to be back, with or without the alien. If they don't come back within this deadline, then we go in."

"That's actually pretty smart," Emma concedes. "I didn't know you were such a good strategist."

"Dear, I led armies throughout wars back in my day."

"Right, I still forget you're a 64 years old monarch," Emma teases.

Regina is outraged. "I am not 64!"

"Yeah, like Cap here isn't 94," Henry adds.

"I was frozen in time, and he was literally frozen. We did not age, ergo we are not old. Get over yourselves, will you"

Emma just rolls her eyes, suppressing a smile. Henry's still giggling.

"You really fought in wars?" Steve asks Regina, regarding her cautiously.

"I rarely actually fought, but I did send a lot of men to the battlefield," she answers.

"And they blindly fought for you, with no reason other than to serve the crown?"

"Yes, and if they refused I would take care of them myself," she replies evenly. "Things were different over there, Captain, especially for women. I don't expect you to understand. People just don't grasp that women in positions of power don't have the luxury of having emotions."

"That's true," Maria agrees. "They often overlook what women have to give up to be taken seriously as an authority figure."

Steve turns to Maria and she's looking at him like what she had just stated had a deeper meaning for them. He can't hold her gaze and looks away.

Emma and Regina exchange a knowing look. "So are we all okay with Regina's plan?" Emma breaks the uncomfortable silence.

"Yes," Maria replies while Steve nods.

"Good," Emma says back. "So let's get this party going."

* * *

"Are you Cap's girlfriend?" Henry asks Maria when they're alone with Regina at her office, a couple of hours after Emma and Steve went after the asgardian.

"Henry," Regina reprimands.

"No, I'm not Captain Rogers' girlfriend."

"But you guys are close?"

"We work together," Maria says simply.

"But it's not just that, right?"

"Henry," Regina reprimands again, glaring at him.

"It's just that she seems pretty worried about him," the boy explains defensively.

"Because he's a national icon and my boss will skin me alive if anything happens to Rogers under my watch," Maria justifies.

"But he's Captain America, he can handle anything," Henry says like it's obvious.

"I wish I had that confidence," Maria sighs. "Rogers is too heroic for his own good, it makes him reckless and he constantly puts himself in unnecessary danger."

Regina snorts. "Sounds familiar, doesn't it Henry?"

"Like you don't love when Ma plays the knight in shining armor act," the boy says suppressing an eye-roll.

"You are particularly annoying today, go visit your grandparents and your uncle," Regina dismisses him.

He huffs and leaves.

"He seems pretty well adjusted for a kid who found out that his family is a bunch of fairytale characters," Maria comments.

"He's a teenage boy, in his eyes that's basically the best thing that could ever happen to him," Regina smirks. "But I think that the important thing is that he knows that, regardless of who we are, his family cares about him more than anything."

"And about each other," Maria points out. "At least you and Emma seem pretty close."

"We are reluctant allies," Regina says. "The only thing that matters in the world for both of us is loving and protecting Henry, so in light of this revelation we called a truce."

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, one of the reasons I became Deputy Director of the biggest security agency in the world is because I excel at reading people," Maria says back with an arched eyebrow. "And I can tell with certainty that you and Emma are not just 'reluctant allies'. You care about each other too, and very much."

"Like you care for this Captain of yours?"

"Steve is my responsibility," she deflects.

"Emma is my responsibility," Regina says. "If anything was to happen to her, Henry would never forgive me."

"It's not the same thing," Maria replies, shaking her head. "Steve is my job, Emma is your family."

Regina turns to regard Maria for a very long time, like she's considering letting the other woman in a very important secret. Maria just lifts her chin and stares back.

"When I was reigning as the Evil Queen I had this… rule, that I should not let myself care for anyone, ever. Becoming attached to someone would make me vulnerable and I couldn't afford that, not in my position. So I pushed away everyone that made me feel something, anything. I did that so many times that I can easily recognize when someone else is doing it right in front of me," she gives the other woman a pointed look. "So let me give you a piece of advice, Lieutenant. I know you didn't ask for it, but I'll give it anyway. Caring and being cared for is not wrong, it's not a mistake. Love isn't weakness. If you have someone in your life, don't push them away, on the contrary, hold on to them. You don't have to fight your demons alone. And letting people in, it might save your life more times than you think."

* * *

"So you were born in the 20s, right?" Emma asks to break the silence. It's a long walk and she gets antsy.

"1918, actually," Steve replies.

"That's crazy," she shakes her head. When she thought her life couldn't get any weirder, Captain Fucking America appears. "What was it like?"

Steve shrugs. "Nice, I guess. The Depression was tough but we got through it. The War was tough too but they told me we won. I don't really know, I fell asleep in the end."

Emma chuckles. "What do you miss the most from back then?"

"My mom, my friends," he says. "Things were much simpler back then, but I'm actually starting to enjoy conflict. Everything nowadays is open to debate and I guess that's what makes us evolve."

"Long live equality, man," Emma declares.

"Yeah," he agrees. "Bucky would love all of this, he was already too modern for his time."

"Bucky?"

"My best friend," he clarifies. "We grew up together and fought in the army together. He was a constant in my life and I owe a lot to him."

Emma recognizes that shadow of loss hovering over him, she's lived with it for too long. "You haven't found a home in the new world yet," it's not a question.

Steve regards her for a moment, remembering she was once an orphan like him. He turns ahead again and shrugs. "I don't know if I can. I already had a home and I lost it, I don't think it another one will come around."

"It will. Take it from someone who lost a lot of homes over the years, there's still hope," she says. "For a long time I thought that I'd never have anyone and I made my peace with it, thought I was better off on my own. I wasn't, though. We're not built to be alone. We might survive without someone else but that's not living. I realized that when Henry brought me to Storybrooke. This family I have, it's not what I dreamed of but I kinda think it's what I needed. We're all messed up but we're there for each other, and we're home."

Steve smiles at her.

She blushes, uncomfortable with her own mushy rant. "What I'm saying is, hang in there. It might be bad now, but it will get better. You'll find home too."

"Thank you," he says. Then he looks up ahead again. "It's not all bad, though. The Avengers, we're there for each other too. We're a group of misfits in our own ways and we understand one another. We have our disagreements and we take our sweet time on finding our balance when working together – and God bless Lieutenant Hill's soul for her patience in those awful times – but we get it right in the end."

"She's tough, huh?" Emma points out.

"Oh, she is," he concedes, chuckling. "I've never met a woman quite like her. I have met one similar in a lot of ways, maybe, but not quite like her."

"I feel you, bro," Emma nods. "I never met a woman like Regina before."

Steve thinks it over for a while, considering if it was rude to ask.

"Are you and Regina… are you two… do you and her… you know, are you…"

"Are you trying to ask if Regina and I are together?"

He nods sheepishly. "I hear it's very common these days," he says, his not-so-subtle way of saying his cool with it.

"It was probably as common back in your days, but society was less open to it back then."

Steve nods, smiling. "You're probably right."

"We're not," she looks defeated. "Together, I mean."

"Do you want to?"

She sighs. "It's complicated."

He snorts. "It always is."

"You would know," to his frown, she adds. "Hill."

"What about her?" he asks, defensively.

Emma throws him a skeptical look. "C'mon, Cap. I've seen the way you look at her."

"I look at her like I look at anyone else," he's so obviously tense.

Emma actually laughs.

"Okay, first of all, let me tell you about my special skill. I actually call it a superpower, ironically enough. I can tell when someone is lying. Every time. I don't even know how to explain, I just get this tingling in the back of my head and my heart, and I just know when someone is lying to me," she gives him a pointed look and he blushes a little. "But honestly I didn't even need my superpower right now because, and I'm sorry to break this to you Cap, but you're just the worst liar I ever met," she smirks and he shrugs. "And last but not least, you can't fool me Cap, I noticed the way you look at her and I know that look, I know what it means. You wanna know how I know?" he nods. "Because it's the same look I have on my face every time I look at Regina."

He sighs. "She… intrigues me. I don't know how else to put it. She just… keeps me interested," he's blushing, it's cute as hell. "She's obviously attractive…"

"Oh yeah," Emma agrees way too quickly and Steve gives her a look.

"Sorry," she says, but she doesn't look sorry at all.

"But what fascinates me the most is her smarts and her posture and how good she is in everything she does," he continues. "And she has a good heart, she always does what's best for the people, even though sometimes…" he trails off, not knowing exactly how to explain himself.

"Her methods are questionable," Emma fills in. "And you're not 100% sure you can trust her because she keeps so many secrets and has so many walls up, and you don't know exactly what she's capable of doing to accomplish her goals. And she scares you a little bit."

Steve actually stops and regards Emma with wide eyes. "Please tell me you you're using your witch powers to look inside my head right now."

She laughs. "I don't need to look inside your head," she says while resuming the walking. "I have my own fierce brunette, remember?"

Steve falls into step with Emma again.

"But let me tell you something, Cap," she continues. "Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith. I'm not gonna lie, you will be disappointed every once in a while and you will disappoint too. That's just how life is. But it's worth the risk. Because with women like Regina and Hill? It's all or nothing. They're so passionate and driven, if you're ever lucky enough to be in the receiving end of their feelings, you'll never get a taste of anything better in life. Everything is multiplied by 1000, that's just how they operate; so when it's good, it's freaking wonderful."

Steve looks at her with a smirk. "Doesn't sound that complicated to me at all, Sheriff Swan."

"You would think," she chuckles but doesn't elaborate.

"I don't know," Steve lets it go and focus back on his situation. "I mean, I don't even know if she sees me that way…"

"She does," Emma cuts in.

"…and even if she did, there's a lot at stake for her when it comes to dating Captain America."

And now the look he exchanged with Maria when she spoke of things women in positions of power have to give up makes more sense.

"Then you must show her that you're worth the risk," she offers.

Steve lets out a bitter laugh. "I can't even think in a way to do that."

"That's the thing, don't think. Thinking leads to over thinking and that leads to second guessing and that leads to nowhere," she lays down to him. "You're a soldier, Steve. Your strong suit is your instinct. Just go with your gut, always go with your gut."

He mulls over this for a minute. "You're actually making sense."

"Hey, I can be smart when I want to. Just don't tell Regina. She finds my idiocy endearing."

"What's the deal with you two, after all?"

"Hell if I know," she shakes her head. "But you know what? I do wanna know. This conversation made me realize I'm tired of dancing around this. I need to have a serious talk with the mother of my child."

Steve chuckles. "Well, good for you."

"Now we better find this alien dude and go back home or our favorite empowered brunettes will hunt us down and kill us for not coming back to them."

* * *

"They're late," Maria says between deep breaths to keep calm. "We have to move in."

"It's been fifteen minutes," Regina says back, nonchalantly.

"Yes, and the deadline was four hours, not four hours and fifteen minutes," Maria snaps. "Something must have happened."

"I highly doubt it," Regina ignores the woman's stress. "Unless you count Emma hitting her pinkie somewhere, that actually happens quite often. Despite her last name, she's the clumsiest human being I've ever met."

"How are you this calm? Aren't you worried about her?"

"Of course I am, but it's still too early to lose my cool," Regina snaps back. "Someone has to keep it together and clearly it ain't gonna be you."

"I shouldn't have listened to you, I should have gone with him," Maria shakes her head, trying to clear her thoughts. She would love to shoot something right now. "This is a fucking nightmare."

"Calm. Down." Regina says between gritted teeth, struggling to stay calm herself.

"You don't understand!" Maria says categorically. "I can't lose him!"

Regina stares straight ahead for a second, expressionless. "Good thing you won't."

"How could you know?" Maria demands.

"Because he's right behind you," Regina says simply before circling her and helping Emma put the knocked out asgardian in a chair nearby.

Maria stiffs. _Shit. Shit, shit, shit_. He must have heard. She doesn't dare to turn around and face him. Not yet.

"I'm gonna let Fury know we got the guy," she says before leaving the room.

Steve just stares behind her.

"Go after her, Captain. We will look after this one," Regina says motioning the asgardian.

Steve nods and follows Maria.

"What happened here?" Regina asks Emma.

"He spotted us and tried to run, Cap clocked him with his shield. It was pretty cool," the blonde woman says with a grin.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself," Regina rolls her eyes, but smiles anyway.

Emma just shrugs, still smiling.

"You had me worried for a moment there," Regina says in a low voice, full of emotion. "I had complete faith that you'd come back unscathed but I just… those were some long fifteen minutes so please next time don't be late."

"Why you're the only one that can be late?" Emma teases, trying to take the emotional weight of the moment.

"Because I'm a queen," Regina replies but the heaviness doesn't leave her features. "I mean it, Emma."

"I know," Emma holds her hand and Regina takes it. "Seriously, Gina, you should know by now you can't get rid of me that easy."

"I suppose that's true," the brunette says squeezing her hand. "Thankfully."

Green eyes stares deeply into brown eyes. "I will always find you."

"Ugh, you had to ruin it."

Meanwhile, Steve finds Maria at the end of the corridor outside the Mayor's office.

"Hey," he greets cautiously.

She turns back to him, but not quite meeting his eyes. "Hey. I just messaged Fury, we should head back now."

"Okay."

"How was it over there?" she asks, cutting off any chance of him addressing other matters.

"Fine," he said, shrugging. "We landed in a forest and we walked around a lot looking for him but that was pretty much it. When we were closing in on him he saw us and tried to run, I knocked him out with the shield. Then we got back."

"Quick and clean, that's good," she nods. "How was portal jumping?"

"Weird," he says, making a face. "I got a little nauseous, but Emma says it's normal."

"Emma?" she arches an eyebrow at the intimacy.

"We talked a lot while we walked around the forest. She's nice, we could be good friends," he gives a little emphasis on 'friends' just in case. "Did you and Her Majesty bond as well?"

"I guess you could say that. I don't think we would be good friends because we're too much alike but she helped me understand some things about myself so there's that," she stops herself before she reveals too much about her conversations with Regina. "Anyway, we have to get back to base."

She starts walking away but Steve's not done yet.

"Maria," he grabs her arm; when she turns back at him, he slides his hand down her arm and holds her hand, locking gazes with her. "You won't ever lose me, okay?"

She just stares at him, at a loss of words. Her heart is racing and her breaths are irregular. He just smiles at her, then kisses her cheek and walks back to Regina's office.

A very long day indeed.

* * *

"Hey Cap, can I throw your shield?" Henry asks when they're approaching the town line, the unconscious asgardian levitating behind them thanks to Regina's magic.

"Cut it out, you nerd," Emma teases the kid.

"Like you don't want it too," Henry says back to her.

"You know what, Henry? You were vital to our mission today so I think you earned this," Steve says. "You can throw the shield."

"Cool!" the boy exclaims, taking she shield and running ahead to throw it back at Steve.

To everyone's surprise, he throws it really well.

"Where did you learn that?" Emma asks when Henry runs back to them. "My kid could've been a pitcher for the Yankees, why is the world so unfair!"

"Relax Ma, I still can be the next Captain America," the boy says smugly.

"I think the being Yankees' pitcher would be much cooler," Steve says between chuckles.

"Well, this is it," Regina declares when they reach the town line.

"Thank you for all your help today, we couldn't have done it without you," Steve says.

"And thank you for keeping our secret, it means a lot to us," Emma says back.

"It was nice working with you all," Maria says. Then she turns to Henry "You've got a lot of potential, young man. I can't promise anything about the Yankees' pitcher or the Captain America position, but when you're eighteen, come see me at S.H.I.E.L.D. and I'm sure we can work something out for you."

Henry's eyes shine so bright with this that Maria almost cries. "Thank you," the boy says and his gratitude is so palpable. There's just something about this kid.

Steve holds out his hand for Emma to shake it. "You have a beautiful family here, Sheriff. Hold on to them."

Emma nods. "And you go get yours, Cap." They smile at each other.

Steve grabs the knocked out asgardian and with one last glance at the Swan-Mills trio, he and Maria cross over the town line and the little family is gone.

On the other side, Emma, Regina and Henry watch Maria and Steve walk away towards the spot they left the quinjet.

"You think we're ever gonna see them again?" Emma asks.

Regina shrugs. "Maybe. It's unlikely, but not impossible."

"We better see them again," Henry says. "I already got job at S.H.I.E.L.D."

Emma turns to him. "Kid, you're so gonna be an Avenger."

Regina huffs. "Over my dead body."

"C'mon, Mom!" Henry says at the same time Emma says "Don't be such a spoilsport!"

Regina just shakes her head and poofs them home.

And that was the first of many adventures of the Swan-Mills and Hill-Rogers families together.


End file.
